Fifteen years ago…
'Ezra. My name is Ezra.'
The thought still felt strange as it echoed in his mind while he wandered through the vast garden.
Just a month ago, he didn't have a name at all.
He had been nothing more than a nameless street child who happened to help an older boy who looked rich. A noble, or so Ezra had thought at the time.
But that boy hadn't been JUST a noble.
He was a prince.
Not just any prince either, but one from a neighboring kingdom, one of the most influential kingdoms in the world, or so he had been told.
Ezra still couldn't remember the kingdom's name. The world itself had felt impossibly large once he learned how many kingdoms existed beyond his own. Too large for someone like him.
And yet, here he was.
Helios.
The prince he had helped.
Helios had come back for him.
Out of gratitude, Helios had said. Gratitude so strong that he insisted on bringing Ezra back to his kingdom.
Ezra hadn't had anything waiting for him where he was. No family. No future. So he accepted.
There was another reason too, one Ezra didn't say aloud.
'It was him,' Ezra thought. 'The bread. It had to be him.'
Why else would a prince have been wandering near that alley? Why else would food have started appearing there afterward?
'He's too kind,' Ezra thought, a small smile tugging at his lips. 'He brought me here. Gave me a name. Let me study. Let me live like I matter.'
He paused mid-step.
As he wandered deeper into the garden, soft laughter reached his ears.
High-pitched.
Women's laughter.
Ezra stiffened, instinctively slowing his steps as the sound drifted closer, carrying on the breeze.
'Should I take a look?'
Ezra hesitated, his feet slowing even as the sound of laughter drifted closer. Curiosity tugged at him, stronger than caution, and in the end, it won.
He moved carefully toward the noise, steps light, aware that this place was not meant for someone like him.
He pushed aside a thick bush and peered through the leaves.
What he saw made his eyes widen.
Women.
Adult women.
They were tall and elegant, draped in flowing gowns of fine fabric, jewelry catching the light as they laughed. Delicate fans fluttered in their hands as they leaned close, surrounding a single boy in a loose circle, their voices bright and amused.
The boy looked close to Helios's age. Maybe a little younger.
But still far older than Ezra.
Ezra watched as the boy smiled without hesitation, taking the women's hands one by one and pressing his lips to their knuckles. He reached up, fingers brushing through their hair, bold and familiar, earning delighted giggles in return.
Ezra's brows furrowed.
A strange feeling twisted in his stomach, sharp and uncomfortable, like something sour settling too deep.
'Isn't that… wrong?' he thought, jaw tightening. 'He's a child.'
Ezra knew he wasn't educated. He didn't know court manners or noble customs. He didn't know what was considered acceptable in places like this.
But he knew debauchery when he saw it.
And this was exactly that.
It wasn't even the quiet, hidden kind. It was open. Laughing.
Adult women circling a child like predators, like piranhas scenting blood.
His stomach churned even more when he realized the boy was the one initiating it.
'Why would someone our age want this?' Ezra wondered, unease crawling up his spine.
He didn't want to think about it any longer.
'I don't like this,' Ezra thought, heart beating faster. 'I need to find Helios.'
Helios would know what to do. Helios would explain this place, this behavior, this wrongness.
Ezra started to pull back, careful at first, easing away from the bush.
Then his sleeve snagged.
"—!"
The fabric caught hard on a branch, yanking him forward. Ezra barely had time to react before he stumbled, arms flailing uselessly as his footing slipped out from under him.
He fell.
Face first.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs as he hit the ground with a dull thud, leaves and dirt scattering beneath him. Pain flared along his chest and cheek, sharp and sudden.
The sound echoed.
Too loud.
Far too loud.
The laughter stopped instantly.
Silence rushed in, heavy and sharp.
"What was that?" one of the women said, her voice cutting through the quiet.
Ezra lay frozen against the ground, heart pounding so hard he thought it might burst.
'I shouldn't have looked,' he thought desperately. 'I really shouldn't have looked.'
Ezra scrambled, palms slipping against damp earth as he tried to push himself up. His heart hammered wildly as one thought rang through his head.
'I need to leave. Now.'
Before he could take even a single step, he felt it.
A presence.
Close. Too close.
His body went rigid.
'Oh no.'
Was he about to get dragged in front of those women? Scolded? Punished? Thrown out of this place he had only just arrived in?
"Oh."
A voice spoke behind him. A boy's voice.
"It's just you."
Ezra froze at the words.
Just… him?
Just him?
The tone wasn't angry. It wasn't surprised either. If anything, it sounded bored.
'Do you know me?' Ezra thought, confusion twisting with fear.
Before he could turn around, the boy spoke again, louder this time, directed elsewhere.
"Do not fret, madames. It is merely a boy who got lost," the boy said smoothly. "I'll take him back and return shortly."
Ezra frowned.
'Merely a boy?' he thought, irritation sparking despite himself. 'We're almost the same age…I think.'
He barely had time to react before a firm hand closed around his arm and pulled him upright with effortless strength.
Ezra stumbled slightly, caught off balance by how easily he was lifted.
"There we go," the boy said calmly. "Now let's get you out of here. You've interrupted my time with those ladies."
Ezra blinked, stunned.
'Interrupted… his time?' he thought incredulously.
He twisted his arm just enough to turn around, ready to ask what kind of boy actually enjoyed being surrounded by grown women like that.
The question died in his throat.
He froze.
The boy standing in front of him was only a little taller, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Silver hair brushed his shoulders, far lighter than Helios's, almost white with faint streaks of silver, neatly groomed and tied back with care.
But it wasn't the hair that made Ezra's breath catch.
It was the eyes.
Gold.
Brilliant, unmistakable gold.
Ezra felt his stomach drop.
'No,' he thought. 'Oh no.'
He didn't need anyone to explain it to him. He had learned enough already.
In this kingdom, golden eyes meant only one thing.
Royal blood.
Which meant the boy holding his arm was a prince.
Not just any prince.
Helios's brother.
Ezra swallowed hard, his pulse roaring in his ears as the weight of that realization settled over him.
'I really shouldn't have looked,' he thought for the third time.
"I-I'm sorry for interrupting," Ezra blurted out, panic creeping into his voice. "Please let me go. I know my way—I can leave—"
"Do you know who I am?"
The question cut cleanly through his words.
Ezra swallowed. "N-No…? Yes—uhm… you're Prince Helios's brother," he answered quickly. He didn't know the name. He only knew the eyes.
The prince let out a soft snicker and tugged Ezra forward. Not rough, but firm enough that Ezra stumbled and had no choice but to follow.
"Of course," the prince murmured, almost to himself. "That's all anyone ever sees, isn't it? Helios's brother."
Ezra stiffened as they walked.
"My name is Kaelis," the prince continued, his tone sharpening just a little. "I am the second prince. Not just Helios's brother."
"I-I'm sorry," Ezra said quickly. "I didn't know, Your Highness. Please don't get me punished."
Kaelis glanced back at him, amused. "Punished? No. I'm not going to get you punished." His grip tightened slightly. "I've been curious about you. And to think you'd fall so close to me of all people."
'Curious…?' Ezra thought uneasily.
Kaelis stopped walking.
"But," Kaelis went on calmly, "for the record, and so you don't embarrass yourself again, when you meet someone with eyes like mine, you do not look at them like that."
Before Ezra could react, Kaelis pulled down on his arm. Ezra lost his balance and bent forward. A hand pressed against the back of his head, forcing him lower.
"There," Kaelis said softly. "You bow. You don't meet our eyes."
Ezra froze.
His eyes were wide, his jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ached.
"This," Kaelis continued, almost lazily, "is how you properly address us. Just in case Helios forgot to teach you."
Ezra's chest burned.
'What is this?' he thought, anger coiling tight in his stomach.
He had grown up on the streets. He had lived without a name. Without status. Without pride.
He had learned to endure.
But this… this was different.
The way Kaelis held him down. The way he spoke to him. The way he reduced him to something small and insignificant.
Especially when compared to Helios.
Helios had never treated him like this.
Never made him feel small.
Ezra's hands curled into fists at his sides, nails biting into his palms.
'I don't have pride,' he told himself. 'I don't need it. This was my fault.'
But despite that, something sharp and dangerous stirred in his chest.
Anger.
"Understood," Ezra said stiffly.
He had no right to be angry. He knew that. Not here. Not with someone like this. So he swallowed it down, buried it where he had buried everything else in his life, and kept his face blank.
Kaelis released him at last.
Ezra straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders as if to shake off the lingering weight of the prince's hand. The moment he lifted his head again, Kaelis was already turning away.
"Come," Kaelis said lightly. "I'll get you out of here."
"You don't have to," Ezra replied, his voice colder than he intended. "I know my way, Your Highness."
Kaelis stopped.
He turned back, eyes locking onto Ezra's.
He stared.
Not a passing glance. Not idle curiosity.
It was sharp, deliberate, lingering far too long.
Ezra held his ground, jaw tight.
Then Kaelis laughed.
A soft, amused sound that made Ezra's skin crawl.
"You know," Kaelis said, stepping closer again, "since you're younger than me, you probably haven't presented yet."
Ezra took a step back without thinking.
Kaelis didn't miss it.
His gaze swept over Ezra from head to toe, slow and assessing, as if Ezra were something to be examined rather than a person.
"With your height," Kaelis continued casually, "and the way you look in general, it's obvious." He folded his arms. "You're going to be an omega."
Ezra's stomach twisted.
"And as an alpha," Kaelis went on, his tone almost smug, "even if I am a prince, it's my duty to protect little omegas like you in a place like this." His lips curved. "Especially since you're a boy. Male omegas are rare, you know."
There was pride in his voice.
"I wonder if that's why Helios brought you here."
Ezra felt his eye twitch.
It twitched not only once, but twice.
He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying what he wanted to say.
But that doesn't mean he couldn't think about it.
'I want to kill him.'